Black Models, Their Legacies In Fashion And Beyond

L’officiel’s history was shaped by black models whose own stories have gone largely untold. Here, their legacies in fashion and beyond live on

- Piper Mcdonald & Tori Nergaard

Before there was Adut Akech, Naomi Smalls, Naomi Campbell, or even Grace Jones, several models of colour laid the important groundwork, breaking through longstanding racial barriers. Towards the end of the ’60s, cultural tides were turning, and more diverse faces began taking their rightful places in popular media. Although iconic performer Josephine Baker was recognised for her popularity in France throughout many early issues of L’Officiel, it was not until 1969, when Sandi Collins began her work with the magazine, that black models became a consistent fixture in editorials. Yet despite her watershed work with the magazine, Collins’ name – and those of other pioneering models of colour – has been left out of much of fashion’s history.